Can you make HVAC and plumbing techs sign a non-compete?
The FTC's non-compete rule never took effect, state law now decides everything, and the state rules keep moving.
What to confirm before you put a non-compete, non-solicit or confidentiality agreement in front of a tech — and what to do when a candidate brings one to you.
Probably not the way you think.
There is no federal non-compete rule for HVAC technicians or plumbers: the FTC's 2024 rule was vacated in court, never took effect, and was removed from the Code of Federal Regulations effective February 12, 2026.
Whether a non-compete you hand a tech holds up is a state-law question, and states answer it differently.
Here is where the rules actually stand before you put an agreement in your offer packet.
Which states ban or limit non-competes?
The enforceability of a non-compete for HVAC technicians is decided by state law, not federal law — which means the answer changes at the state line.
A shop with crews in two states can get two different answers for the same agreement.
That is also why this page will not hand you a list of "banned states": our research confirmed the federal picture and California's new statute in detail, but a verified state-by-state map of non-compete bans and limits was outside what we could confirm.
Build the policy for each state you hire in with an employment attorney licensed there — not from a blog list.
The state statute our research did confirm is California's AB 692, and it shows how concretely states now regulate these agreements.
For contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2026, AB 692 makes it unlawful to include in an employment contract a provision requiring a worker to repay a debt or pay a penalty or fee if they leave a specific employer — the "stay-or-pay" family of terms, which is what training repayment agreements are.
The statute exempts, among others, contracts tied to an apprenticeship program approved by California's Division of Apprenticeship Standards and properly structured tuition repayment for a transferable credential.
Note the boundary: AB 692 restricts stay-or-pay terms, not non-competes as such.
But it is the confirmed example of how far state law already reaches into post-employment agreements: it applies to you directly if you hire in California — for contracts your company enters into on or after January 1, 2026, it governs the repayment terms your employment contracts may include — and it can matter when a candidate brings a California agreement to you.
It is also a reminder that these rules are set state by state and change with legislative sessions.
Treat the non-compete question as a per-state question, and confirm the current law of every state you hire in before you standardize your paperwork.
Where does the FTC non-compete rule stand?
Gone — and it never started.
The Federal Trade Commission issued its Non-Compete Clause Rule in 2024, but a court vacated the rule before it took effect, and the agency has formally closed the chapter.
On September 5, 2025, the FTC voted 3-1 to dismiss its appeals and accede to the court's vacatur of the rule.
On February 12, 2026, the rule — 16 CFR part 910 — was formally removed from the Code of Federal Regulations.
What stands in its place is the rulebook that existed before 2024: state law.
No federal ban on non-competes is in force, and none is coming through that rule — it never took effect and is now gone from the CFR.
That matters practically because much of what you will find when you search this question dates from 2024, when the proposed rule was news: articles announcing a nationwide non-compete ban describe a rule that no longer exists in any form.
The operational takeaway for a shop owner: do not make paperwork decisions based on anything you read about "the FTC ban."
If you are writing a non-compete into your offer packet, or retiring one, base the decision on your state's current law and confirm it with an employment attorney — state law is where every one of these questions is now decided.
Are non-solicits and confidentiality agreements better options?
They are different instruments, and the difference is scope.
A non-compete restricts where a departed tech can work at all — the trade-wide restraint.
A non-solicitation agreement is narrower: it restricts a departed employee from soliciting your employees or your customers, not from working in the trade.
A confidentiality agreement (an NDA) is narrower in a different direction: it protects information — pricing, customer lists, service agreements, vendor terms — rather than restricting where someone works.
For a shop owner, the appeal is obvious: your competitive position in the trades is a book of customers and the techs who serve them, and a non-solicit speaks to exactly those two assets without telling an experienced tech they cannot work in the trade at all.
That is why shops that step back from non-competes often reach for non-solicits and NDAs instead.
Whether they are legally better options is a question our research did not confirm: whether a non-solicitation agreement or confidentiality agreement holds up in your state depends on your state's law and the drafting, and no verified state-by-state rules for these agreements exist in our research vault.
Have an employment attorney draft or review any of them before you rely on one — and if your attorney tells you a non-compete is off the table in your state, ask how non-solicits and NDAs are treated there too, since the treatment is not automatically the same across agreement types.
What if you hire someone bound by a non-compete?
Ask early, ask in writing.
Make "are you party to a non-compete, non-solicitation agreement, confidentiality agreement, or training repayment agreement with a current or former employer?" a written screening question for every tech candidate, and keep the answer with the application file.
A written answer protects both of you if a question comes up after the start date.
If a candidate is bound by something, get a copy of the actual agreement and have your employment attorney review it before you extend the offer.
These documents are state-specific and fact-specific — when it was signed, in which state, and what it actually restricts all change the analysis — so do not rely on the candidate's summary of it.
And do not coach a candidate to ignore an agreement; if the hire proceeds, decide how to deploy them in their first weeks with your attorney, not on your own.
The caution runs in both directions: before you start recruiting techs out of a competitor's shop, know what your own hiring practices expose you to.
Dates matter.
In California, for contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2026, AB 692 makes it unlawful to require a worker to repay a debt or pay a penalty or fee for leaving a specific employer, with exemptions including contracts tied to a Division of Apprenticeship Standards-approved apprenticeship program and properly structured tuition repayment for a transferable credential.
A California candidate who says "I'd owe my old shop money if I left" may be describing a term the statute does not permit — but that is a call for your attorney, not for the hiring manager, and the date the agreement was signed decides which rules apply.
Restrictive covenants are one clause in one document; building the crew is the whole job.
The sourcing, screening, pay and onboarding work is in our guide to hiring HVAC and plumbing techs.
This page is employer career and business information, not legal advice. Non-compete, non-solicitation and stay-or-pay rules are state law, and they change — confirm the current rules with an employment attorney licensed in every state where you hire before you put an agreement in front of a tech or rely on one a candidate has signed.
The pre-hire file for restrictive agreements
- A written answer from every tech candidate on non-competes, non-solicits, confidentiality agreements and training repayment agreements — kept with the application file.
- A copy of any agreement the candidate has actually signed, requested before the offer goes out.
- The signing date and state marked on that copy — California's AB 692 rule applies to contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2026.
- An employment attorney's review of that agreement and of your own state's current law — the federal rule is gone, so state law decides everything.
- A deployment plan for a new hire's first weeks agreed with your attorney — never a decision to ignore an agreement.
Questions employers ask
Are non-competes enforceable for plumbers?
The same answer applies as for HVAC technicians: there is no federal non-compete rule — the FTC's rule was removed from the Code of Federal Regulations effective February 12, 2026 — so whether a plumber's non-compete holds up is decided by state law.
States treat these agreements differently, so confirm the current law in your state with an employment attorney before you put one in an offer packet.
Did the FTC ban non-competes for HVAC techs?
No. The FTC's 2024 Non-Compete Clause Rule was vacated in court before it took effect.
On September 5, 2025, the FTC voted 3-1 to dismiss its appeals and accede to the vacatur, and on February 12, 2026 the rule — 16 CFR part 910 — was formally removed from the Code of Federal Regulations.
No federal ban exists; enforceability is a state-law question.
What is the difference between a non-compete and a non-solicitation agreement?
A non-compete restricts where a departed tech can work at all.
A non-solicitation agreement is narrower: it restricts a departed employee from soliciting your employees or your customers, rather than from working in the trade.
Both are contracts whose enforceability is decided under state law, so have an employment attorney review whichever you plan to use.
Can I require a tech to repay training costs if they quit?
In California, generally not.
For contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2026, California's AB 692 makes it unlawful to require a worker to repay a debt or pay a penalty or fee for leaving a specific employer — with exemptions, among others, for contracts tied to a Division of Apprenticeship Standards-approved apprenticeship program, properly structured tuition repayment for a transferable credential, and properly structured sign-on bonus repayment.
Elsewhere the answer is state-specific; confirm it with an employment attorney.
More hiring resources
Keep the techs you hire — no clause required
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